Aussie with questions for sailing on Oaisis

[lownslow]

We are looking to fly over to the US to do a cruise on Oasis in 2015, September.

Just looking for some hints on where to fly into (Fort Lauderdale or Orlando?)

I seem to be able to find al ot cheaper prices (hotels etc) then what I'm being quoted.

Is it best to book through an agent or just DIY our whole trip?

 

We will be staying on for a week after the cruise to do disney world and universal so any hints there would be great also.

Do we need to fly between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando?

 

Thanks!:D

[truffles2]

You would need to fly into Fort Lauderdale for the ship. FLL has a number of nice hotels. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites--which has an evening cocktail hour (free) and a free cooked to order breakfast with additional buffet. The cab fare to the port is less than $15; plan to leave the hotel about 1030 and you should be eating lunch on board before noon.

Edited December 23, 2014 by truffles2

[Hailzmick]

I'm Aussie too & I've extensively travelled throughout the US, (26 states to date).

I would definitely book hotels yourself.

I'm not sure if we are allowed to mention certain websites to look up- but an app I use is Airbnb- it's amazing & our saviour for our 7 week Eurotrip starting in April.

If you can go to some smaller towns too, rather than just big touristy places- you'll get more out of it I think.

[AussieVisi2r]

Aussie TA make a fortune booking US hotels.

YOu should get most hotel, by booking yourself, for less than half what Aussie TA charge.

 

R

[Clarea]

Another possible airport to use for Oasis would be Miami. There may be more transatlantic options to Miami than Ft. Lauderdale. Miami is about a 45 minute drive from Port Everglades.

[north29]

There are a lot of variables in your travel adventure. Such as a better price for flying in/out or just out of Orlando. If Orlando, you will be better off with a rental car each way to Port Everglades. My price for Orlando to Sydney one way is between $3500 and $4000 US Dollars one way if that helps. Actually I dropped the SYD to HNL cruise because of the air price.

Staying in Orlando for Disney, lot os options, but I do believe you can get a real deal for staying on Disney property and hopefully with meals, as eating in Disney is $$$$$$$$$, or you will need a rental car. However there are lots of places to stay off Disney property that have shuttles to and from Disney and Universal as well and have restaurants near by.

You will need at least 3-4 days to do Disney, well most of it anyway, if you have children, that of course will dictate what parks you take in, I prefer Epcot.

I forgot staying on Disney property that have shuttle buses that take you to all the parks.

If it is legal to say on this site, I use Booking.com and Trip Advisor for some good answers to my travel needs.

[lownslow]

Thanks all,

yes its a bit confusing with all the airports available, if we go via LA, or Dallas (I'd like to do some shopping there!).

 

Is flying in to Fort Lauderdale from Dallas on the day of the cruise feasable? Or would I be pushing my luck? Online it shows flights of an hour or so.

 

We are planning 4 days at disney and 2 at universal before flying home.

I can save over $700 along booking my disney hotel/tickets myself!

[setsail]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2140722

 

 

Ask here, Brad just got off after 2 weeks

[Bradtez]

We are looking to fly over to the US to do a cruise on Oasis in 2015, September.

Just looking for some hints on where to fly into (Fort Lauderdale or Orlando?)

I seem to be able to find al ot cheaper prices (hotels etc) then what I'm being quoted.

Is it best to book through an agent or just DIY our whole trip?

 

We will be staying on for a week after the cruise to do disney world and universal so any hints there would be great also.

Do we need to fly between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando?

 

Thanks!:D

 

Hi Mate,

 

just got off the Oasis after 2 weeks onboard. We flew with Virgin Australia through Syd to LA. If you are flying business or first class I would recommend Alpha Flight Guru, you save a stack on advertised fares.

Then we stayed in Vegas for a week before flying into Fort Lauderdale. Book all the hotels and internal flights yourself, save a crap load of money. We stayed the night before boarding at the Hyatt place, it was cheap and OK.

As for Orlando (which is where I am writing this), you can hire a car, fly or take a door to door shuttle to get up here. We aren't to big on theme parks, came here for a few days to rest after the cruise..lol. Also helps that we have a time share through Marriott.

We have travelled extensively through the USA for at least 2 months at a time so if you have any questions fire away.

[truffles2]

Don't push your luck by flying in the day of the cruise. Too many things could interfere. US airlines notoriously overbook and flights are full for days, so if you miss yours for any reason, it could cause grief as you can no longer "hop on the next flight".

[harlekuin]

Thanks all,

Is flying in to Fort Lauderdale from Dallas on the day of the cruise feasable? Or would I be pushing my luck? Online it shows flights of an hour or so.

 

I don't think this is right. The shortest I see is 2 hrs 40 minutes, nonstop.

[lownslow]

Who would everyone advise to use for internal U.S flights?

I see united tends to be cheaper, but is it reliable??

[Clarea]

Who would everyone advise to use for internal U.S flights?

I see united tends to be cheaper, but is it reliable??

Check out Southwest. Carries the most domestic US passengers. They don't show up on other websites, you have to use their website.

Edited January 1, 2015 by clarea

[Sarvowinner]

If it is a simple return flight, we always do our own booking but our TA has saved us lots of money on US destinations. As an example my husband is going to Chicago in May for an industry show. The Qantas website would not quote him on an itinerary with a stop off in Vegas. Our TA quoted the itinerary for $1700. We are doing a westbound TA on the Allure next October. She quoted us $1700 for Cathay Pacific leaving in August and returning on November 30. Sydney - Rome Dallas - Hong Kong - Sydney. This fare is not available on line. We're doing a road trip from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas.

[BekkaW]

We travel in the US a lot and prefer Southwest for internal flights - main reason being they do not charge for bags (2 bags per person). Most other US domestic airlines charge for bags.

[SeaDays4Us]

We travelled to Florida from Perth WA in 2013, to board Allure of the Seas. We booked with Qantas ourselves via Sydney, Dallas to Fort Lauderdale. Code share was with American Airlines - Dallas to FLL. No long stop overs in Sydney or Dallas. Don't risk it. Arrive a couple of days before hand. Lots to see in Fort Lauderdale. Stayed at Hyatt Pier 66. Taxi to hotel and group van to terminal. We picked up hire car from cruise terminal after cruise and travelled up to Orlando for Disney World and Universal. Stayed at Raddison Lake Buena Vista. Perfect location for both parks. Plenty of restuarants within walking distance. Having car is better than relying on free shuttles. We flew out of Orlando. Did all bookings for flights, cruise, car, theme park tickets and hotels ourselves, on line. No dramas.

[APDMOM]

Check out Southwest. Carries the most domestic US passengers. They don't show up on other websites, you have to use their website.

 

 

Is flying in to Fort Lauderdale from Dallas on the day of the cruise feasable? Or would I be pushing my luck? Online it shows flights of an hour or so.

 

Another vote for Southwest. Also, remember that you will change time flying from Dallas, since Fort Lauderdale is in a different time zone. This can really throw you off. Considering all the money you will spend to fly from Australia, I would not risk missing the ship. Fly in at least a day early. Enjoy planning :)

[lownslow]

OK, I have gone and booked our tickets for Bris - LA myself.

Got a good deal with Virgin - $4500 return for 3 of us not too bad. $700 and something/pp each way.

 

Brad what cabin did you have on Oasis?

Tossing up wether the JS is worth doing over a D1.

We prefer the hump cabins but its about $1000 more - hmm

 

Was looking to do the Western cruise as I want to go to Labadee (is that spelt right?). We consider the ship herself a destination - so not too worried where we go.

 

Looking to break overnight in LA then fly over to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise. Our Agent quoted $500pp to fly back from FL to Orlando, but I've found a few at more than half that price. I'm a bit warey of the budget airlines though. Also a bit scared of getting a hire care and driving on the wrong side of the road:o

[truffles2]

Both times we sailed Allure we had booked a D1 balcony but were upgraded to a JS. When we booked Oasis, I just went ahead and booked the JS because I had heard that the D's were even smaller than D's on the other ships. I guess it just depends on how much you would enjoy the extra room. We do enjoy it. I also enjoy having the bath tub (to soak my knees) and walk-in closet.

 

$500 pp to fly from FLL to Orlando really sounds high to me. (Is that one way?) If there are 3 of you, you might look into private limo or something of that type.

[truffles2]

Google provides a number of options from FLL to Orlando and vv.

http://www.thefloridaexpressbus.com/orlando-to-fort-lauderdale-transportation.html

[e11wa]

turn up a few days early and take yourself shopping at Sawgrass Mills.

its about a half hour shuttle from FLL hotels. and about 500 retail outlet stores.

most amazing shopping i've ever done.

[APDMOM]

Looking to break overnight in LA then fly over to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise. Our Agent quoted $500pp to fly back from FL to Orlando, but I've found a few at more than half that price. I'm a bit warey of the budget airlines though. Also a bit scared of getting a hire care and driving on the wrong side of the road:o

 

As a foreigner who moved to the US, I definitely understand your concerns. Southwest is actually one of the major domestic airlines. They just don't sell through online travel agents, so they are not as well known among foreigners. As someone mentioned, they still allow some free lugguage. They are very dependable. We have never had issues with them, and have flown all the major airlines. Our greatest 2 travel issues were with United. Delta is also pretty reliable in my experience, especially when they accommodated us during a hurricane to get us to the ship on time.

 

If you want to get a good chuckle, do a search for "United breaks guitars video" :D

 

I definitely feel your anxiety over renting a car and driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Driving in Miami and on I-95 will give me grey hair :eek:

[Captain Canuck]

its the RIGHT side of the road..Right is RIGHT

 

I would crap myself trying to drive on the left..but have friends from Oz who rented a car and drove the mountains in Canada. I think you will be fine in most situations but in an emergency your instincts will kick in and you will be wrong. I had issues almost walking into traffic in London as cars coming at me from the wrong direction (my view)

 

since you want to stay in Orlando area for Mickey etc you can do without a car. disney operates a free shuttle from Orlando airport to the hotels in the park. once there you can use the park transportation. hotels off site are cheaper but when you factor in price of rental car and parking for the park it is less of a difference. you can also get deals on the park. mousesavers.com has all kind of info on the disney parks. saved me from booking disneyworld when there was a cheerleading competition. if it was the miami dolphins cheerleaders that would be great..but it was going to be 3 or 4000 screaming 12 year old girls.

 

as to getting to cruise there are many shuttle operations that pick up for the ships. Royal Caribbean has its own bus program for many Florida cities.

 

enjoy your cruise

[BekkaW]

OK, I have gone and booked our tickets for Bris - LA myself.

Got a good deal with Virgin - $4500 return for 3 of us not too bad. $700 and something/pp each way.

 

Brad what cabin did you have on Oasis?

Tossing up wether the JS is worth doing over a D1.

We prefer the hump cabins but its about $1000 more - hmm

 

Was looking to do the Western cruise as I want to go to Labadee (is that spelt right?). We consider the ship herself a destination - so not too worried where we go.

 

Looking to break overnight in LA then fly over to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise. Our Agent quoted $500pp to fly back from FL to Orlando, but I've found a few at more than half that price. I'm a bit warey of the budget airlines though. Also a bit scared of getting a hire care and driving on the wrong side of the road:o

 

We had a JS on Oasis and really liked it. The extra space is good, as is the big balcony. BUT we were on our honeymoon suspect a bit more time in the room, for $1000 difference I probably would just go with the D1 and use the money towards other elements of your holiday.

 

Labadee is a great beach day :) we had an over the water cabana at Nellie's beach which was beautiful.

 

We drove to Orlando after Oasis also, it's pretty easy driving in the US if you're mostly driving up the highway. I'm hesitant to drive too much inside the city although my DH does all the time, but even I was fine just driving up the highway. Make sure the hire car has GPS so you can easily get to your hotel.

 

Within Walt Disney World (I assume you will go there) we have stayed at animal kingdom lodge and also Port Orleans and both were really nice. The value resorts are also excellent value for money - you might be able to get a good deal on dining plans too.

[lownslow]

Well, it looks like we may do the hire car up to Orlando after the cruise.

I've checked prices and we can save nearly $400 buy getting a hire car. Plus we won't have to worry about disembarking and boarding times.

My husband will be the brave one driving though:p